ECoD Experts’ Jury
WE PROUDLY PRESENT
Members of the ECoD Experts’ Jury
The Experts’ Jury is made up of highly respected experts and practitioners in the field of academia, civil society, arts, and business. Its members will assess the level of ambition, innovation and creativity of each Member City’s democracy projects based on the fair and transparent selection process, taking particular account of the respective local objectives, circumstances, and priorities of the specific City.
Bruno Kaufmann
Chair of the Experts’ Jury
Democracy International
Bruno Kaufmann is a political scientist based in Sweden who has served in local governments, advised national governments and international organisations.
He is also author of various publications about participatory and direct democracy and as a foreign correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Company covers democracy affairs around the world.
Bruno is the co-founder of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy, Co-President of the Swiss Democracy Foundation and Executive Board member at Democracy International.
Antonella Valmorbida
Chair of the Experts’ Jury
ALDA Europe
Antonella Valmorbida serves as Secretary General of ALDA since 1999, has a senior experience in promoting local democracy, empowerment and participation of civil society, and good governance in Europe, in the Balkans, in Eastern Europe, and in the Mediterranean area. She is a senior consultant on local development with a focus on the implementation of participatory processes for urban regeneration. She manages a network of 350 members mainly composed of local authorities and civil society groups, in over 40 countries in Europe and beyond.
Antonella is Member of the Board of the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD)
Dr. Sanja Bojanić
Member of the Experts' Jury
University of Rijeka
Sanja is engaged in the philosophy of culture, focusing on contemporary gender, racial, and class issues that intensify social and affective inequalities. She completed her initial studies in philosophy, later earning an M.A. in Hypermedia Studies and a Ph.D. from the Centre d’Études féminines et d’étude de genre at the University of Paris 8. Her work spans interdisciplinary research involving experimental artistic practices, queer studies, and affect theory. Sanja’s professional career has included positions at the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art (Louvre, Paris), the Nouvel Observateur, and the Laboratory for Evaluation and Development of Digital Editing at the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (Paris Nord, St. Denis). Prior to her current position as Executive Director of the Center for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe (CAS SEE) at the University of Rijeka, she taught at the Universities of Aberdeen and Paris 8. She teaches Semiotics, New Media Theories and Practices, and Visual Methodologies at the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka. Her extensive research projects have been supported by the EU Commission, the Volkswagen Foundation, UNESCO and others. She is the author of several books and over forty peer-reviewed papers, making significant contributions to her fields of study.
Paulina Fröhlich
Member of the Experts' Jury
Bertelsmann Foundation
Paulina Fröhlich is Senior Expert for Democracy and Cohesion at the German Bertelsmann Foundation, covering Democratic Resilience, Democracy Reforms, Democratic Policy and Dealing with Radical Populist Forces.
After studying geography, Islamic studies, and water management, Paulina Fröhlich co-founded and served as press spokesperson for the Kleiner Fünf initiative – a civil society movement that uses “radical politeness” to empower people to respond decisively and respectfully to radical populist slogans. Since 2018, she has worked at the Berlin-based think tank Das Progressive Zentrum, heading the Resilient Democracy program area and, for the past three years, also served on the management board. From 2019 to 2025, she was responsible for the major conference “Innocracy” on democratic resilience.
Dr. Haris Piplas
Member of the Experts' Jury
Drees & Sommer, Switzerland
Dr. Haris Piplas is an expert in urban and architectural projects, including initiatives in Zürich, Mannheim, Jakarta, Ukraine, and Berlin. He leads Drees&Sommer’s “Integrated Urban Solutions” division, focusing on urban planning, energy, mobility, and public spaces.
Haris holds a Dr.sc. in Architecture from ETH Zurich, where he lectures on Spatial Transformations, and teaches at Stuttgart Technical University. He co-authored Global Urban Toolbox and City Action Lab, addressing urban challenges.
He curated the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale pavilion, served as ULI Switzerland’s Young Leader Chairman, and is a juror for the New European Bauhaus and ULI Awards. Haris advises organizations such as WEF, GIZ, and UN-Habitat.
Dr. Ally Zlatar
Replacement Member of the Experts' Jury
Ally Zlatar is an artist, scholar and activist. She is the founder of The Starving Artist; an artist initiative that utilizes creative voices as a way to create advocacy and systemic reform. She also founded The Starving Artist Publishing Studio to platform marginalized writers and The Starving Artist Scholarship Fund which helps people access inpatient mental health treatment. Her “This Body of Mine” campaign explores migrant experiences through creative voices and has helped support individuals and artists from refugee-seeking backgrounds globally. Ally Zlatar has received numerous accolades for humanitarian work; such as the Forbes 30 Under 30 for Social Impact (Asia, 2025), Commonwealth Innovation Awards (2023), UNWomen 30 for 2030 (2024), winner of The Princess Diana Legacy Award (2021), King Hamad Award for Youth Empowerment (2022), the Lieutenant Governor’s Community Volunteer Award from the Ontario Government of Canada (2023) and also special recognition from The British Citizen Award (2022).She holds a BFA in Visual Art & Art History from Queen’s University & an MLitt Curatorial Practice and Contemporary Art from the Glasgow School of Art. Her Doctorate in Creative Arts was completed at the University of Southern Queensland focusing on embodied experiences of mental illness in contemporary art. Zlatar has taught as a Lecturer at the University of Sharjah and has taught at the University of Glasgow, KICL London, and the University of Essex (UEIC).
Dr. Tobias Spöri
Replacement Member of the Experts' Jury
Dr. Tobias Spöri is a political scientist whose work explores how Europe is changing, from the future of democracy and political participation to the social transformations shaping civic life. His research examines the drivers and challenges of democratic resilience across Europe.
He serves as a Senior Scientist at the Department of Political Science at the University of Vienna and at the Berlin-based independent and non-partisan think tank d|part. Tobias received his PhD from the University of Vienna and was a scholar in the postgraduate program at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna. He is also a former research fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, where he was part of the GMF Cities program working on urban democracy on both sides of the Atlantic.
We sincerely thank our former members: